by Carol Holden
“Hurry up slow coach.” Shouts Luke. “We need to get to our camping ground before it gets dark.”
“You two carry on, I will walk with Ben.” Says Simon
“We can keep you in sight but we will be a bit behind you.”
“O.K.” Says Pete as he and Luke walk at a faster pace but they are still in sight.
Ben is feeling quite sick with the altitude that is now reaching ten thousand feet and dehydration is starting to affect him.
Luke and Pete are still in sight and are signalling that the campsite is in their view. They have found it difficult with the conditions changing all the time, with ice sheets now in their path, they having to keep their eyes on their feet.
When they arrive at the site they quickly assemble their small tents and heat their rations by boiling water in their primus stove. They eat and drink quickly and get themselves tucked up in their sleeping bags whilst they are still warm from the food and drink. This last day they have all found it exhausting but Ben is feeling tired and ill.
Simon is worried about him but he keeps up the chat and hopes that a good night’s sleep will put him back on track. They have only two tents and Luke and Pete share one with Ben and Simon sharing the other. They are warm enough in their tents and eventually they all sleep well. They awake to a beautiful sight of blue skies and white peaks. They are beginning to reach the higher slopes and their enthusiasm is at a high level.
“Just look up there.” Shouts Pete who is fully dressed and ready for off.
“Give us time to have our breakfast.” Says Ben who seems to feel better after his sleep.
“It will not be so easy from this place on.” Says Luke looking up at the rock face.
“We will have to use ropes and climbing equipment for the next hundred metres.”
Ben’s spirits rally and he is determined to keep up with the others, Simon decides he will keep an eye on him but as the ice fields are very dangerous he has to find his own way through the white craggy boulders.
They travel slowly because they are all struggling for breath and the cold weather is taking its toll. Their trekking the higher reaches has toughened their bodies. But they have to find a place where they can rest. There is an overhanging rock where they can get out of the fierce wind. Ben is dangerously weak; his body feels as though he cannot walk another step. The whole party is exhausted and they decide to put up camp under the shelter of the rock.
They prepare the meal and after having a hot drink, they feel better. Ben is now really gasping for breath and although he doesn’t want to leave the heights, Simon feels that Ben can’t go further up the mountain. Luke and Pete are really keen to complete the trek, so Simon persuades them to go on themselves, the next morning.
He and Ben decide to retreat to a lower level where they will wait for their friends to return after they have reached the peaks.
“We’ll meet you two back in Kathmandu.” Decides Simon when he sees the fatigue in Ben’s eyes.
“In the same place we stayed on our arrival?” Luke asks.
“That will be great.” Replies Simon.
The two friends who are left reach the top of a lower peak where they can see the grandeur of the surrounding white peaks with the sun shinning on them. The prayer flags waving in the distance and the best views they have ever seen.
“I’m sorry Simon and Ben cannot see this.” Says Pete.
“Ben could not have managed the last few hard climbs but Simon probably could have, he is such a good guy to forgo his dream.”
They are satisfied by the progress they have made and return to the camp under the over hanging rock where they stay for the night.
Simon and Ben descend slowly, watching their feet on the frozen paths. Ben is quiet and rather depressed, because of the feeling of failure but also sorry because Simon has had to forgo his trek to the top.
“I feel so sorry to have stopped you reaching the top of our arranged trek.” Ben says quietly
“Don’ be daft.” Simon replies. “I’m as tired as you are, it is better to have got so far as not at all.”
“We’ll take our time so that we have no mishaps.” Simon goes on to say.
Ben is still struggling with his breathing but he gallantly goes on his downward path.
They have about three weeks to return to Kathmandu and they have to walk westwards towards their destination.
Although they are still in hard territory, they chat amiably as they carefully tread the icy paths.
Simon means to get down from the ten thousand feet as soon as they can because Ben‘s difficulty with his breathing should become easier as they descend.
It takes them ten days to get to the terraced fields where they can see small villages, where there are buildings that look as if there may be a hostel or two.
Ben has become very tired although his breathing is much improved and a night in a lodge could help him, where he may have a good night’s sleep and some nourishing food. Their spirits rise as they see such a place down in the lower slopes and in their enthusiasm they put a spurt in their steps.
Ben is whooping with joy when he misses his step and falls off the mountain and rolls down an incline where he hits his head on a sharp stone. He lies there without moving.
Simon walks down as quickly as he can without falling also and finds Ben unconscious.
Ben’s head is bleeding and he is out to the world. The bleeding has to be stopped and Simon does what he can to stop the flow. He finds his small first aid box and with a crepe bandage he presses strongly on the wound. He feels for a pulse and finds a weak one.
He has stopped the worst of the flow of blood so he puts on the largest plaster he has in the box.
“Ben, wake up.” He cries as he tries to lift Ben into a sitting position.
Ben flops down and stays unconscious. A moment later his eyelids flutter and he is trying to sit up.
“Stay there a little.” Simon says feeling a flood of relief as Ben’s pulse begins to feel stronger but he feels very dizzy.
“You can’t stand up yet or your head will fill with blood and that will bring on more dizziness.”
They sit on the side of the trekking path with Simon’s arm around Ben to steady him. They have a map of that part of the terrain and some of the information the French lads have given and they remember that there may be a lodge not far from where they are. Ben is in no fit state to walk. Simon sets the backpacks around Ben for support after finding some water in their packs and now that the warmer slopes are in the sun he leaves him in order to find help to get Ben down to the lodge.
“I’m going to go to the lodge to see if there is someone there to help us get you off the mountain.” Simon says. “You need to be in hospital because you may have concussion. Stay still but warm, keep you hands in your gloves and your scarf around your mouth. I will try to be as quick as I can.”
Simon hates to leave Ben but he has no alternative. He goes as quickly as he can towards the structure he can see in the distance. When he finally he arrives there he sees that it is a school. He calls out to see if there is anyone there. A young man who is obviously a Nepalese answers his call and fortunately can speak English. Simon points his hand in the direction of where Ben is waiting for some help and explains the situation hoping that there will be someone there to help bring Ben off the mountain.
“How far are we from a doctor or a hospital?” asks Simon. Is there anyone to help me bring him down to here?”
The young teacher says,” Wait a moment, I will get the headmaster and he will arrange it.”
An older man is brought and by the young teacher translating the problem the headmaster calls two more staff and with a flat board they sometimes use as an extra desk the whole party start up the slope to where of Ben is laying.
Ben has become aware of his surroundings but he does not remember how he came to be in this predicament and he looks for Simon without success.
He feels uncomfortable so he moves the
equipment as best he can and then lies flat on his back looking up at the sky.
Although his back is aching along with his head he sees the incredible views and the sun setting behind a distant icy peak with the rays shinning like a beacon over the incredibly green terraces. There is a wide stream in the distance with a narrow bridge crossing it. He looks up at the sky and feels a kind of contentment.
The young teacher, who can speak some English, tells Simon that there is a small village hospital about three miles down from the school, and that they may be able to get there the following day, after the boys have had a rest and eaten some food.
There are three villages near to the school but they are without a hospital. The village where the hospital gives medical care to the area is at the end of a proper road that leads to Kathmandu. This information gives Simon a lift because he needs to be there with Ben by the 20th September so that they can meet their friends and he hopes to see Mark again before they leave for home.
The four young men, Simon and the three helpers from the school, climb steadily sharing the burden of the wooden frame between them. There is some chatting going on but Simon does not understand their language. The English speaker tries to keep him informed what the others are saying but Simon is tired and he concentrates on one foot in front of the other. He is worried how Ben will have fared in the cold and he wishes that they were in sight of his friend.
After an hour of plodding uphill through terraces where the villagers worked by growing their crops, they spotted Ben laid out on the side of a path. Simon made an extra effort to get to him, afraid Ben may have lost consciousness again. But when he arrived at his side Ben was sleeping with the sun on his face and looking peaceful.
Ben awoke with the noise that was coming from the group who were there to help him. Simon gave a sigh of relief when he saw Ben open his eyes and smile at the rescuers.
“I was having forty winks.” Ben told them. But it was the pain that had induced the restless sleep that had fallen on Ben.
“Let’s get you on this makeshift stretcher.” Simon said. “We need to get this show on the road. It has taken us one hour to reach you and I hope that you are feeling fit to be carried down the mountain.”
Simon finds ropes that have been used in their climb to tie Ben to the wooden frame so that he will not slide off. The other three arrange a kind of bed from the sleeping bags to try to make Ben as comfortable as possible and Simon ties the ropes around him. Simon counts to three and the four of them lift the stretcher together. Ben feels pain in his leg as well as his head and understands that he must have broken a bone somewhere as he tippled off the mountain. The journey is not easy and the four of them feel a strain on their knees as they carry their burden down the slippery slope.
They arrive at the school before nightfall and all four are relieved to find the headmaster has arranged for the two English trekkers to stay at a nearby lodge where there will be beds for them and a welcome meal. Simon is so grateful for their help and he tells the English speaking one how he feels and for him to tell the others how grateful they both are for their kindness and great help.
The next morning their friend from the school arrives when they have had their breakfast, along with his class of twelve year olds, to accompany the two English trekkers down to the hospital by carrying the stretcher and helping them on their way. The boys have beautiful brown eyes and they chatter all the time. Some have a good feel for English so they are curious about our lives and are asking all sorts of questions.
“Why do you come to our country to climb the mountains?” one asks.
“Because it is the most beautiful country in the world.” Ben replies
“And we have been dreaming of coming here since we were your age.”
All of the boys smile and they look so shy but pleased by Ben’s answer.
“You are so lucky, to have your school here on the mountain where you will probably leave to become guides for the likes of us, who can just spend a month in perhaps a full lifetime.” Simon tells them.
The boys chuckle loudly and talk to each other, agreeing that they hope to be trekker guides, as well as, workers in Katmandu in the tourist offices there and perhaps, working in the hotels in Pokara and such like places, now becoming popular with Western people. The small hospital comes into view, although Simon and Ben do not recognize it as such, because it looks like a small cottage within the village. The teacher tells the boys to take Ben inside as he explains what has happened to him.
“Is it possible to help Ben who has problems walking, and may have broken bones?” The teacher asks the nurse.
The nurse, who seems very efficient, takes a look at Ben and explains to
Simon that the doctor will be coming later in the day and will be able to take them
to Katmandu, where there is a proper hospital. The teacher then arranges for them to have a rest and for Ben to be made comfortable. He wishes them good luck before he and his class head back up the mountain to resume their studies.
Simon finds a warm area inside the cottage and asks the nurse if they can stay
there until the possible lift arrives. Although the nurse does not understand
English Simon tries to speak a little of her language, and between them, the nurse
makes hot drinks to be given to himself and Ben and a comfortable bed for
Ben. The sun is at its highest, about noon, when the four-wheel drive arrives at
the village hospital and by this time Ben is in considerable pain. The young lady
doctor looks at Ben’s leg and confirms that it is broken. She gives Ben some
strong painkillers and then gently takes off his coat to look at his arm.
“It’s looking rather like the arm may be broken at the wrist.” She says.
“I’ll take you down to Katmandu with me so that you can have proper treatment
there.”
“We have x-rays and a good bone doctor so that you will be made better.
I have patients here to see to and then we will be on our way.” She continues.
“My name is Taz and I work with my father who also works in the hospital in the
city.”
Simon is grateful to this beautiful young woman, who has so much sympathy for
Ben who is really now quite drowsy from the drugs she administered.
Taz hurries away to attend to four or five patients in another room in the cottage.
They wait for her to have finished her rounds. The nurse arrives with
another drink for the lads and also some soup made from the vegetables they
grow on the terraces outside the hospital. Simon helps Ben with the soup before
he eats his own and the hot drinks revive them.
“Come on you two.” Taz says as she drinks a cup of tea.
“Let’s get this young man in the vehicle. I have a stretcher and I think we can make him comfortable in the back.”
The nurse helps us and the three of us carry Ben on the stretcher and secure the stretcher in the motor vehicle.
“O.K let’s get on our way,” says Taz. “I’ll see you on Friday,” she calls to the nurse as she waves goodbye.
Chapter 26
“Give me your names, we have a few hours to travel and as we will be talking, I hope I’ll get to know you a little.”
“Ben is in the back and my name is Simon.”
“We have been trekking. Four of us started out and we met my relative Mark in Katmandu. He is on a project east of Katmandu and met us and took us to the beginning of our trek. We have had a wonderful time until we walked on the high mountains, when Ben began to have altitude sickness and we came down to the lower slopes. We were just celebrating seeing a lodge, when Ben had his accident. He fell over the edge and could not walk. I tried to make him comfortable and then I left him to get help. The school came into my sight and I got help from the headmaster, who found us two beds in a lodge, where we slept until morning and
then a teacher with his class helped to carry Ben down to the little hospital where you found us.” Simon tells her.
